31 July 2008
HMAS Melbourne
Two thousand sailors and airmen from nine nations are gearing up in northern Australia for Exercise Kakadu IX, an important international Defence exercise.
The 19 day exercise will bring together Defence personnel from Australia, New Zealand, the French Armed Forces - New Caledonia (FANC), Singapore, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Japan and Thailand; with observers from the Philippines, Indonesia and India.
Exercise Kakadu IX is a multilateral exercise aimed at developing interoperability in maritime operations in an international environment. It is the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) premier international engagement activity for 2008 and will take place in the Northern Australian Exercise Area off Darwin.
The exercise aims to improve the Australian Defence Force’s ability to work with international naval forces in maritime contingency operations and evolutions, and will test the effectiveness of participating assets.
During Kakadu IX, the RAN will be represented by the Replenishment Vessel HMAS Sirius, the Anzac Class Frigate HMAS Toowoomba, Adelaide Class Frigate HMAS Melbourne, a Collins Class Submarine HMAS Collins, the Armidale Class Patrol Boats HMAS Maryborough and HMAS Maitland and two Mine Clearance Vessels HMA Ships Diamantina and Gascoyne. Royal Australian Air Force Hornet and Hawk Fighter Strike Aircraft and two AP-3C Orion Aircraft will also be participating in the exercise.
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